Ive owned both the wolverene and the scrammy 400. they both have there good points and bad points heres my 2c.
The wolvy was a real agile, well balanced machine. Jumped and handled real nice. I had lots of trouble with: front wheel bearings, brakes, rear hubs, and the swingarm bearings went out. I can say tho that that engine is almost bulletproof, just a little (lot) underpowered. And I also did NOT like the full time 4x4.

The scrambler in my opinion is an awkward pig, when it comes to really ripping around in the trails. Its top heavy and unpredictable on jumps. - I have had trouble with, water pump seals, starter, and considerable electrical probs.
The Scrambler (400) is much easier to get more power out of. Plus I thought that the cvt was better in the deep stuff than the manual tranny.
I gotta say that the Wolverene was a real hard bike. I sunk it twice when I had it, and put it thru stuff I wudnt dream of putting this 400 thru. - - But the 400 is a lot more fun.
Good luck, and let us know your decision.

 

yeah i did notice tha t the 500 was really fat around the middle so ihad a hard time getting a grip on the tank with my legs

 

I have a buddy with a wolverine and my wife has a scrambler 500 4x4. Have rode both of them. The scrambler is much peppier than the wolverine. It has ture 4x4 and can be taken out of 4x4. The wolverine can't unless you get a warn 4-2-4.
We raced them on the dunes, and the scrambler was ahead by 3-4 bike lengths in 2x and 10 lengths in 4x4 in about 800 ft.
Look at my pics to see it in action.

 

Nice pics. Anyone ever get some nice air on a scrambler and have pics?

 

I don't know if you would consider it nice air, but I posted three pics on my page showing me gettin air. The wonderful moderators just need to aprove them. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

hmm weird i thought you had a scrambler 500 h.o already?

 

Hey Scram is a nice bike but I love my wolverine to death. Both are nice bikes youll like them both but Ill tell you why I like my wolverine.

1) Ground clearence is better (whoever said the scram has more ground clearence doesnt know that ground clearance is judged by the lowest point on the bike that isnt the tires so the chain drive in the rear is much lower then the rear differential on the wolverine's shaft drive.

2) Chain drive, if your going to be riding rough rocky terrain isnt as good. I have quads with chain and my wolverine with shaft and it simply is more vulnerable unless you get skid plates but that just decreases your ground clearance more. if your hopping logs it doesnt make a difference but if your running rocky trails with large things between your tires it definatly will.

3) weight. The wolverine is lighter weight and smaller which unless your an extremely large person makes it more fun in my opinion to whip through the trials. I'm 6 foot and 180 lbs and i am completely comfortable and not at all cramped in any way on my wolverine.

4) The Suspention is great in my opinon, its ajustable and I have yet to bottom mine out although I dont jump extremely high but if you want to jump big buy somthing lighter neither of the two ATVs will be extremely agile in the air but thats obvious.

5) I will say that 4x4 all time isnt as fun for sport riding but depending on your experience level I enjoyed riding it all stock for almost a year. This brings me to my next point which is modification. No matter what you buy or how fast it is or what it can do everybody eventually wants a little change here or there. There are a plethera of aftermarket parts on both the accessory and performance side. They didnt have the 424 select when i got mine in 2001 but the first thing I did was the highlifter skidplate package and the cv boot guards because protection is important on any ATV. Second, I did a pipe and filter which is simple slip on and carb ajustment and it really lit the engine up. if you get bored with the power for 300 bucks from alba you get a megamax slip on, a K&N filter with outerwear, a torque stuffer, and jets. I agree the snap on the wolverine is nothing to talk about stock but because the engine is off the same design as the Yamaha Warrior most of the parts are interchageable other then the transmission of course. Next I went with the 424 select which is one of the first things i reccomend its like night and day. Finally just recently I did a White Brothers high lift camshaft and a Wiseco High compression piston. They even have 450 big bore kits from Four Stroke Tech if you wanted to go that far.

The piston and cam are nice because it revs out a lot more but really the pipe and filter made the biggest power difference. I can keep up with most any utility or sport quad in the woods and through the sticky stuff. Obviously it wont hit the mud holes as deep as the big boys but they cant keep up with a z400 ripping through the woods at high speeds either.

In conclusion, The wolverine is lightweight and a blast to ride. If you are looking for more power it is not expesive to unleash a lot of hidden power that that engine has inside of it, Its reliable as hell, It can keep up with everybody in most everything, it looks great, Its low maitnence and sturdy, theres unlimited room for improvement on it. I have gotten other toys since it like my snowmobile and quadzilla and as much fun as they are I know the one bike that wont be going anywhere is my wolverine. Putting money into that isnt a loss its an investment in my eyes.

Thats just my opinion on it if you have any questions let me know. I have some pics of it in my pics area on the website. Forgot to add i just did 1.5 inch wheel spacers on the rear and will be putting them on the front when i get time to do the install this winter. It slides better then it did but the width was never really an issue until Adding all the performance (cam and piston) but anybody who makes their quad that much faster usually widens their stance with an axel or somthing.

 

I have a scrambler and my friend has a wolverine. As far as which is better, It depends, If you plan on carrying anything or putting things on your racks for camping, I would go with the wolverine. My friends came with racks and has always carried everything with no problem, even the deer he gets each year are put on the rear rack. The wolverine is alot cheeper too. So if money is an issue than maybee the wolverine is for you.

If you don't plan on hauling anything really heavy and ride mostly trails/mudd/tracks than I would go with the scrambler. It is more expensive, but has better 4 wheel drive(true all wheel drive) and can be 2 wheel drive at the flip of a switch(It sounds like the wolverine can to with mods). I have rode behind sp700 that have got stuck and I made it through on my scrambler, So if you like mudd the scrambler will get through a lot of stuff with out a problem. I also like to jump, Not high just 4-6ft high, and my scrambler seems to handle it very well.

The wolverine is an auto clutch, but you still have to shift the gears.
Scrambler is fully auto, just hit the throttle and go, always plenty of power.

Both are totaly different machines for around $350 worth of mods.

I would recomend that you think about where you are going to ride and if you plan on hauling things(scrambler does have racks avail. just not stock)

Like what was said above you will like either one, just do you want more of a sport(scrambler) or more of a utility(wolverine) quad.

Me and my friend switch all the time and He does like my scrambler alot, and His wolverine is a blast to ride too.

You will be happy either way!